A Community Manager’s Guide to Redesigning Your Website
In this digital age, your community’s journey often begins on your website. And yet many websites are built more as a landing page than a guided space. The key to website design from a community lens is constantly asking: “what do we want our people to do?”
Consider these community design techniques to audit and guide your website build to make sure you are answering that question.
Clear is kind
Clear design is community building design. It helps bring your people in and starts the onboarding process for you. Confusion is a community blocker. If your potential members are vague about your offering when they land on your site, you will lose them or have to do a lot of work re-explaining down the line.
Kindred is a community for executive leaders dedicated to ESG and DEI education and organizational impact. Recently, Grand Trine Studio worked with Kindred to redesign their website. Prior to the revamp, potential members landed on a beautiful but confusing website full of insider language and no clear call to action. Without time or a decoder ring, it was difficult to know what action to take or know that “assembly” meant an interactive event or that “advisory” meant leadership coaching. Kindred’s simplified website clarifies the offering and benefits included in membership with crisp navigable design and direct language which improved Kindred’s engagement.
Insider language can be a very powerful tool when the community creates it, but too much insider language won’t support your community growth. Overcrowded graphic design can prevent potential members from taking action.
When auditing your website, ask a trusted friend outside of your community to look at your website. Were they able to easily understand your community offering? If not, a copy revamp might be worthwhile.
Make the small print big
It’s important to be upfront about the requirements of belonging. Communities that require applications or have a vetting process for membership should explain the criteria and process at the outset. The offering, amenities, pricing, time commitment, expectation, and boundaries of the community should be prominently placed or easy to find on the website. In 2016, when I was helping launch women’s community and coworking space The Wing, our membership vetting process was too veiled—it felt exclusive to some, too exclusive to many, and confused even more. Expected wait time or any inkling of the acceptance process was a mystery. As the organization scaled, we added clearer explanations of member benefits, offered more detailed pricing and commitment expectations in the form of an FAQ page and more robust web copy, but that transparency came late and the exclusivity narrative stuck.
When auditing your website, prioritize this crucial information. Proactively managing expectations supports the acquisition of your dream members and prevents customer service challenges born from confusion.
Let your people sell it
Testimonials from your community members are a powerful persuasive tool. Clever marketing language can only go so far. Potential members want to see and hear from current members and understand how the promise of your community delivers. Highlighting your people is a statement-making community move and supports your community narrative at any stage of growth.
The Cru’s homepage provides a strong example. At the Cru, members are placed in small peer-coaching groups to help each other meet their goals or intentions. On the Cru landing page, eight rotating rectangles outline specific use-cases for small-group shared goals and flip to reveal a first-person testimonial describing how their Cru experience supported this goal. The Cru directly maps the testimonial to the goal while using their satisfied members to share the story.
Your website plays a key role in community growth. It sells your vision, tells your community story and manages expectations for potential members eagerly awaiting all your community has to offer. Make sure your website provides current and future potential members the same level of care and thoughtfulness they will experience in your actual community—it’s their first taste of what’s to come.
